The Roughriders general manager, head coach and vice-president of football operations was considering his options when it came to the first overall pick in the draft. Jones said Monday that he had received numerous calls from other CFL teams inquiring about the availability of the first selection in the draft.

“There have been people who have tried to buy the pick and there are some who are trying to switch spots in the first (round),’’ Jones said while meeting with the media at Mosaic Stadium. “We’re going to look at the best offer and we’ll make the best decision for us.’’

It appears that decision hasn’t been made. Six of the prospects in this year’s draft were in Regina for further evaluation by the Riders.

“We don’t have one guy in mind,’’ said Jones, adding that he would prefer a prospect who could join the Riders immediately. “We have three or four guys that we really like and any of those four we get will be able to help us.’’

The Riders have the aforementioned first-overall pick but don’t have a selection in the second round. The Riders traded their second-rounder and receiver Cory Watson to the Edmonton Eskimos in 2015 for the rights to long snapper Jorgen Hus and Edmonton’s third-round selection in this year’s draft.

That trade gave the Riders two third-rounders (24th and 26th overall) this year. Saskatchewan also has picks in the fourth (35th), fifth (36th), sixth (52nd) and eighth (62nd) rounds. The Riders lost their seventh-round pick in a January deal with the Ottawa Redblacks that brought since-retired receiver Maurice Price to Saskatchewan.

Jones and the Riders’ football operations have already discussed the stretch between the first and 24th overall draft picks.

Saskatchewan Roughriders head coach, general manager and vice-president Chris Jones, shown meeting the media on Monday, has some decisions to make leading up to Tuesday’s CFL draft.

“That has been a stumbling block for us when we were doing our mock drafts and stuff like that,’’ Jones said. “I feel like we have some pretty good names in the third.’’

As of press time, the Riders still held the rights to the first overall pick. That could change by the time the draft kicks off on Tuesday at 5 p.m. on TSN1.

Offensive linemen are expected to be popular in this draft once again and the Roughriders could easily look in that direction to bolster their depth.

Saskatchewan is expected to start internationals at both offensive tackle positions. That leaves the Riders with national veterans Brendon LaBatte and Chris Best as guards and Dan Clark at centre.

The 29-year-old LaBatte is among the league’s best guards, but is headed into his ninth season. Best, 33, struggled during the 2015 season and could be pushed at training camp. Clark was solid in his first full season at centre and he’s expected to continue to develop.

There is offensive line depth because six of the nine players listed in cfl.ca’s mock draft were offensive linemen. Still, there isn’t a consensus first-overall selection among the offensive linemen in the draft.

Having said that, Jason Lauzon-Seguin (Laval), Charles Vaillancourt (Laval), Josiah St. John (Oklahoma) and Brandon Revenberg (Grand Valley State) are all prospects that could help any team immediately.

Linebacker is another position the Riders could target in the draft. There is little Canadian depth with Nehemie Kankolongo as the only national linebacker listed on the Riders’ active roster. National linebackers are often key players because they can contribute on special teams while learning the nuances of the professional game.

Alex Singleton (Montana State) is the top linebacking prospect in this year’s draft. He’s American born and was thought by the CFL to be an international. It turned out that Singleton’s mother is a Canadian and his status was changed to national during the off-season. Singleton is only 22 and already has had stints with the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, New England Patriots and Minnesota Vikings.

Singleton would make any team better on defence and special teams. He would also help out with their international-national ratio. The Riders will get only one shot at him (with the first overall pick), but he could be worth the gamble.

NOTE: Jones said that Monday’s report that former Hamilton Tiger-Cats defensive end Eric Norwood was set to sign with the Riders was premature. Jones has talked to Norwood, who is recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament that he suffered in the East Division semifinal on Nov. 15. The Riders want to gauge Norwood’s progress before making a decision regarding his status. Norwood isn’t expected to be recovered in time for training camp.

This Week's Flyers

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.